Test Results

Chapter 45: Test Results (Seeking Recommendation Tickets~)

The burly man strode onto the high platform, stretched his muscles, lowered his stance, and slowly clenched his fist. The veins on his arm, thicker than an average person's thigh, bulged.

"Hah!"

With a roar, the strong man punched!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud echoed as the man's fist embedded itself halfway into the stone block.

The strong man withdrew his fist, stepping back two paces, a look of disbelief on his face.

"How is this possible?"

A black-armored soldier beside him took out a measuring ruler, measured the depth of the fist print, and declared indifferently, "Two inches and four fen. Not qualified. Next."

The strong man dejectedly walked off the platform, muttering "impossible" under his breath.

A murmur of disbelief rippled through the crowd. This man looked like he possessed hundreds of pounds of strength, so how could he only leave such a shallow fist print?

Shi Lan observed all this, unsurprised. The man, though robust and strong, was ultimately a mortal, utterly unskilled in martial arts. His strength couldn't be focused. This punch had likely only unleashed sixty to seventy percent of his potential.

Judging by the man's physique and the force of his punch, it should have been at least over two hundred pounds of force, equivalent to a martial artist at the second level of the Body Tempering Realm. Yet, it only left a print slightly over two inches deep.

By this calculation, to meet the Demon Suppression Army's requirements, one would need at least the strength of the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm or higher.

After the strong man left the stage, another young man of similar build stepped onto the high platform. This man's punching force was considerably weaker than the previous one, leaving a fist print only one inch and nine fen deep.

This was clearly below the minimum requirement Nie Yangze had just set.

Before the two black-armored soldiers could even speak, they stepped forward, pinned the young man down, and retrieved a long plank from below the stage. Ten heavy blows landed on the man's body.

After ten strikes, the man's back was a bloody mess, and he was unable to move. His companions carried him away.

This display extinguished much of the fiery ambition the crowd had felt upon seeing the gold bricks.

Just as people were looking around, a lean man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, approached the edge of the high platform. Without using the steps, he leaped directly onto the nearly ten-foot-high platform in a single bound.

The mortals in the crowd gasped in amazement. The gazes of a few martial artists sharpened, and they became serious.

The man approached the stone block, drew his bow stance, and stretched his muscles. A series of cracking sounds, like rolling thunder, erupted from his bones.

"Hya!"

With a long cry, the man clenched his fist. His fist blurred, and a whistling sound of air being cleaved followed.

"Pfft!"

The crowd's vision swam. The lean man's forearm was deeply embedded in the stone block.

The man withdrew his arm, exhaling a long breath. A visible stream of murky grey air shot out from his mouth, traveling nearly a foot before slowly dissipating.

"Seven inches and five fen. Qualified," the black-armored soldier announced the result and gestured for the man to proceed to the wooden desk for registration.

"Name?"

"Yan Shan."

After Yan Shan, more than a dozen other martial artists took the stage, but very few qualified. Apart from Yan Shan, the deepest fist print left by any other qualified candidate was only six inches and two fen.

Several mortals who had attempted to sneak in and try their luck were, without exception, beaten with planks.

Yan Shan and the other successful candidates stood with their arms crossed by the entrance of the City Lord's mansion, watching the high platform from afar. Every time a new tester stepped up, they would quietly discuss and exchange their insights.

Seeing that the time was right, Shi Lan squeezed through the crowd and walked up the steps to the high platform.

Upon seeing Shi Lan ascend, the martial artists immediately voiced their opinions.

"Her footwork is chaotic, her landing is weak, and her grip is unstable. Clearly a mortal."

"Her tendons are soft, her movements are sloppy. Another one hoping for luck."

"Greed for wealth is understandable."

Most martial artists took a glance, shook their heads, and lost interest, turning their gazes away.

Yan Shan quietly observed Shi Lan. Suddenly, his brow furrowed as if he had discovered something, and his expression turned solemn.

Shi Lan walked to the stone block and stopped. After a rough estimation, she raised her right arm, clenched her fist, and threw a straightforward punch, without any fancy moves, at the stone.

In this punch, Shi Lan held back three parts of her strength from the start. The moment her fist made contact with the stone, she felt as if she had plunged into a swamp, her power rapidly dissipating.

The force on her fist was quickly absorbed. Shi Lan looked at her forearm, half-buried in the stone, feeling uncertain if she had met the five-inch depth requirement.

After a moment's thought, Shi Lan added another two parts of her strength. Her forearm, which had already stopped, sank in further.

A black-armored soldier, who was preparing to measure the fist print, looked at Shi Lan with some surprise.

Shi Lan withdrew her arm and took two steps back.

The black-armored soldier stepped forward, felt the depth of the fist print, and announced, "Seven inches and nine fen. Qualified."

The martial artists below exchanged glances, all looking somewhat embarrassed.

Yan Shan's expression was grave. He had noticed Shi Lan's actions just now. The initial momentum of her punch had dissipated. The strength required to push further was a completely different matter from delivering such a deep fist print. The power behind the woman's punch was unimaginable.

"Name?"

"Shi Lan."

"Current residence?"

After registering the basic information, the black-armored soldier pointed to the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion. "Wait there. Lord Nie will have something to say to you later and will give you your bounties then."

Shi Lan walked to the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion as instructed and stood firm. What she found strange was that as soon as she arrived, the group of martial artists shifted a few steps away, distancing themselves from her.

Soon, fewer and fewer people stepped onto the stage for testing, until eventually, not a single figure could be seen. In the end, including Shi Lan, only twenty-six people passed this test.

Among these twenty-six people, the one who left the deepest fist imprint was a black-robed man around forty years old with a powerful aura. His fist imprint, nine inches and seven fen deep, far surpassed everyone else.

Ranking second was Shi Lan. Following Shi Lan was Yan Shan. Apart from these three, none of the other martial artists' fist imprints exceeded seven inches in depth.

After confirming that no one else wanted to step onto the stage, several black-armored soldiers began to clear the items on the high platform.

A black-armored soldier walked up to the martial artists and said, "Follow me." He then turned and pushed open the gate of the City Lord's Mansion.

The martial artists filed in, following the black-armored soldier into the City Lord's Mansion.

Shi Lan surveyed her surroundings. The courtyard walls of the City Lord's Mansion were about the same height as those in the Shi Manor, and the layout and arrangement of the environment were not much different.

Following the black-armored soldier, everyone soon arrived at a large hall.

The hall door was open. Upon entering, everyone saw Nie Yangze sitting on the main seat at the high place.

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